A trek to "Cypress"

After lengthy discussions for finalizing a trekking spot (which went around for days!), one of my friend came up with a very hysterical suggestion; "Lets go to Cypress"! Hysterical, because of from what I had heard, it was a place near Mulund (A Mumbai Suburb), where young and just-in-college couples came to do their "thing". However, not once did it cross my mind that, it was an excellent trekking spot. Naturally, I was reluctant at first to wake up at 7 in the morning on a Sunday to see juvenile yokes making out in open. However, persistent requests and a few death threats later, I finally relented to drag myself along. Now, when I look back upon the entire experience, I have only one thing to ask myself; How wrong could I be!!!

The day started at 8 (that is the least you can expect people will start coming when you ask them to come at 7) in the morning. The foothill of Cypress was a half hour drive from our place. No sooner did the trek began than we were lost. All we could see was a 10 feet wall bordering the entire area. Some of the daredevils amongst us decided to climb over, while some Gandhian's protested. Finally, when we all crossed the wall, we noticed that there was a small opening in the wall some 200 meters away which was used by most of the people to go across! Then came the tough part, the Climb Uphill. The hill was a dangerous mix of jagged rocks, slippery slopes and lose mud. Halfway through the trek, some of our "Nawabi" team members had already given up any hope of climbing further. But that hope was rejuvenated when a flock of energetic (and good-looking!) female trekkers zipped past us. 45 minutes and a lot of cribbing later, we finally managed to reach the top! And that is when it felt like it was all worth it! Contrasting view of Vihar lake nestled amongst lush green Sahyadri hills on one side and towering skyline of Mulund and Thane on the other was enough to render anyone mesmerized. Seeing the dissonant existence of concrete forest vis-a-vis an authentic forest evoked a bemused image of how would have Mumbai turned up to be had it not been for such a wanton felling of trees for human settlement. Lying down on the grass, gazing upon the gently passing clouds above with tranquil and cool breeze blowing against you; the only thought which raced through our mind was, Is this how it must be to be in heaven? We spent 1 hour on the peak, but it felt like only few minutes had passed by.



(i) Towering Mulund Skyline (ii) Vihar Lake (iii) Mission Accomplished

A few quick snaps and we were ready to start our downward journey. Our climb downstairs was the funniest part of the entire trip, with people slipping, climbing and swinging on trees and masquerading for picture in the most weirdest poses imaginable.




Once at the foothill, we had a hearty breakfast, a "chai" and a "sutta" to conclude one of the most remarkable and memorable trek of my life.

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Celebrity of the Year - Ajmal Amir Kasab

Just glance at the number of pages listed by Google Search for each of the following "celebrities":

Sachin Tendulkar: 1,720,000
Shahrukh Khan: 2,980,000
Akshay Kumar: 2,270,000
Madhuri Dixit: 1,040,000
Ajmal Amir Kasab: 6,290,000

If one goes by Google's Listings, there will be no doubt who the bigger celebrity amongst them is! All thanks to our glorious Indian Judicial System and a babbling Media, Kasab has become nothing short of a famous figure. And all it to took for him to achieve this "feat" was callous killing of 200 people at random, including some of the finest officers Mumbai Police had ever seen! Almost 9 months have passed since that dreaded incident occurred, but Mr Kasab is still languishing in our jail, scoffing off our (Indian) food and is being provided a high-level security cover, all of which is paid for by the Indian taxpayer, who ironically happened to be Mr Kasab's prime target! It cannot get any outrageous than this.

One thing that distresses me the most is, why are our politicians and bureaucrats not able to distinguish between a Criminal and a Terrorist. Kasab is not some petty hoodlum who has robbed a bank or has run over a bunch of napping slum dwellers. He has waged a war against the nation! Just like Chechen rebel Movsar Barayev led gunmen did when they attacked Moscow Theater killing 129 hostages or like the Black September members did when they wiped out the entire Israeli team during Munich Summer Olympics of 1972. But, what happened eventually? The chechen terrorists were put to death while the Black September members were hunted down and bumped off. No court room dates, no witnesses required, no prolonged trial; just plain, simple and well served justice.

On the contrary, in India, it has become a ritual to harbor terrorists (which, by the way, are caught after an intense gun battle, mostly resulting in the death of one or more of our brave policemen/army man). Haven't we learnt anything from 1994 Kidnappings of Western Tourists in New Delhi? (3 Brits and 1 American tourist were kidnapped by a group of Kashmiri Separatists led by Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was captured but had to be let off after the Kandahar Hijacking debacle). Are we waiting for another Kandahar to happen?

To add to the misery, the entire drama has been given a fancy name of "Fair Democratic Hearing"! Pure balderdash! How can it be a fair and democratic trial if it is unfair and unjust to the people of this very own Country? Nearly 450 people have been killed in a spate of terrorist attacks that have rocked Mumbai since 2002, but not a single captured culprit has received a capital punishment. For that matter, most of them have not even received a punishment at all (in spite of the presence of number of special courts dedicated only for terror-related cases!) What kind of example are we trying to set here? Are we saying that come to India, kill a few hundred people, get captured and involved in a web of complicated and prolonged lawsuits, meanwhile tell your chums to capture a few hostages, exchange them and get free to do the same all over again? Can it get any simpler than this?

My sincere request to all our Politicians and Bureaucrats of this country is that, you engage in as much fraudulent practices as you want, you fill your bank accounts with as much black money as possible, but do not, at any cost, jeopardize the security of this country. This lenient and languid attitude towards terrorists will only help in breeding hundreds of Kasabs, who next time may vie for the blood of your near and dear ones too!


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NSG Issue

Multiple Policemen flashing Sub-Machine guns or Black cat commandos toting AK-47's and a long cavalcade of red-beaconed cars and jeeps; all these have become more of a status insignia than a measure of security. This was clearly evident from the hysteria which was created after the review committee decided to downgrade the security cover of few politicians. Prominent among them were Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati, Murli Manohar Joshi and Lalu Prasad Yadav. But the humorous part of this entire fracas were the comments issued by some of these leaders after the Home Ministry announced this decision;

"You are insulting those leaders who are fighting for social justice. You are putting our lives in danger by proclaiming that you are reducing our security"
-SP Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav
(You are absolutely right Sir. If banning English and Computers is your way of fighting social justice, then you are surely in a grave danger from the numerous people who are qualified, those who wish to get a better education and those who vouch for a prosperous and developed India)


"If anythings happens to me, then Home Minister will be held responsible"
-RJD Cheif Lalu Prasad Yadav
(The entire India is counting that something happens and Lalu Prasad develops a strong yearning for developing Bihar rather than simply demanding for more trains from Patna to Mumbai!)





Jokes apart, just glance at some of these figures which will have you flabbergasted. Our government annually spends Rs 175 lakhs per politician in providing them with a Z+ Security, add to that Rs 1 Crore for a yearly NSG cover, 8-15 Lakhs for bullet proofing of a single vehicle (a full convoy may consist of 6-8 Bullet proof Cars), installation of high-end security devices at the offices and houses of these politicians, not to mention the fuel and ammunition cost and you have a bill thats runs into hundreds of crores. Also, the above estimate is just for the Z+ security, add to it 3 different types of security covers (Z, Y and X) which are currently being provided to approximately 6000 VIP's all over India and you will have a number that is way difficult for my pea-sized brain to calculate!

One solution to this problem can be, to make use of services of private security instead of NSG or para-military forces like CRPF, CISF or ITBP. Other solution may be to formulate a completely new force altogether whose only task will be to gaurd our "revered leaders". And by looking at the way in which SP and BSP leaders protested the downgradation of security, I thought the one person who needed security cover (may be a Z++) the most was our poor old LS Speaker! God save his a**!


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Airline gets notice for frisking Abdul Kalam

Some facts about Dr. Abdul Kalam:
  • Director of the project to develop India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III)
  • Responsible for the evolution of ISRO's launch vehicle programme, particularly the PSLV
  • Responsible for developing Indigenous Guided Missiles at Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO)
  • Responsible for the development and operationalisation of AGNI and PRITHVI Missiles
  • Chairman of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC)
  • Author of 4 books "Wings of Fire", "India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium", "My journey" and "Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within India"
  • Awarded the coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997)
  • 11th President of India…and the list goes on
Such is the stature of one of the most respected and distinguished personalities of modern India. No doubt such a furor was created when a foreign airline was involved in frisking him, making him wait in the aero-bridge and treating him like a “normal airline passenger” as a part of the routine airport security exercise. However, what boggles my diminutive brain is, WHAT CRIME DID THE AIRLINE OFFICIALS COMMIT?

The airline officials lucidly stated that, they did what is to be done according to their company policy i.e. to scrutinize every person using the airline, irrespective of whether that person is a VIP or a VVIP. Instead of applauding them for their unprejudiced and impartial act, they were forced to dole out a public apology. The fundamental question to be asked here is why is there a different set of rules for a different set of people in the first place?

This is one of the many flaws which makes way for other debauched malpractices like Corruption to seep into the system. Our great MP’s and MLA’s have customized, reshaped and revised the red-tape in such a manner so as to be suited for their own convenience. No matter in which part of India you are, there is always a separate parking space, train berth, airline seat reserved for our dignified VIP’s. Heck, there is even a fully furnished “cell” waiting for them when they are sentenced to a jail term.

The irony of the fact however is that, according to the airline officials, Dr. Abdul Kalam was very cooperative and underwent the entire process without any hitch. So who were the ones who created such a ruckus over the entire issue? None other than those very same politicians who felt that their VIP stature was at stake if they would be subjected to such “blasphemy” as “airport security”.

So next time, if you want to smuggle that expensive 80 Gig IPod or bootleg that chic Sony PSP you desperately wanted to lay your hands on, you know whom to call; Your friendly neighborhood VIP, of course!

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Dec 2 1984: The Night Bhopal Turned Into A Gas Chamber

Originally posted on : Desicritics.org

The article posted below is an actual bloodcurdling account of the Bhopal Gas tragedy by Mr.G.V Krishnan, who was then a correspondent for TOI based in Bhopal. Now retired, he runs www.mymysore.com , a civic initiative on the web.

December 2-3 night has significance for my family. We are Bhopal survivors. I read in the papers that people in Bhopal observed the 22nd anniversary of the gas tragedy with a silent procession by the gas victims. Even after two decades since the tragedy the gas victims are still on a protest mode for relief and rehabilitation. Over 40 tonnes of the lethal methyl isocyanate – a toxic substance whose formula remains an industrial secret that is zealously guarded by the company – leaked from the Chhola Road Union Carbide pesticide plant, Bhopal, claiming 3,000 lives and leaving thousands of others with, what is suspected, genetic and reproductive

after-effects. The pregnant women exposed to the gas that spread to much of the Bhopal town had suffered abortion or gave birth to stillborns.

For several days in the wake of the disaster all nine cremation grounds in town were kept busy round the clock. There were reports of collective cremation of bodies to clear the backlog in the first few days of the gas leak. As many as 191 bodies were cremated as "unclaimed." Many of them were rail passengers who collapsed in the waiting hall and platforms of Bhopal railway station. Over 85,000 residents fled Bhopal in the wake of the gas leak.

It happened late on a Sunday night, when the town had gone to sleep. I was woken up by commotion on the street. When my wife opened the balcony door for a look-see we sensed irritation in our eyes. I thought the police might have burst teargas shells somewhere in the vicinity to disperse a mob. People were out on the street, heading towards the lake close to our flat in Professors' Colony. Within a few minutes I got a call from N. Rajan, a neighbor and editor of the local daily, Hitavada. He said there was a gas leak in the Union Carbide pesticides plant and residents in the old city were fleeing their houses to escape the gas that caused irritation in the eyes, vomiting and breathlessness.


Before long we felt the effect of the gas in our house, though we were more than five kilometers away from the Carbide plant. And, like scores of others in our neighborhood, we locked our place and took to the street in a bid to outpace the drift of the poisonous gas. The four of us - my wife, 12-year-old son and I, along with our dog Bitsy - joined hundreds of others on the road. Many were rushing ahead in panic, hoping to get as far away and as quickly as they could from the Union Carbide plant. We could not keep pace, which turned out to be a blessing. For those who were in a rush, and breathing heavily, inhaled more of the toxic gas, developing breathlessness. We saw some of them vomit and collapse on the wayside.



As we fled our houses, Rajan, who also represented Patriot newspaper, and I realised that we had a major story to handle. I was then the Bhopal correspondent of The Times of India. But the story had to wait. Besides, it was past edition time. My immediate concern was finding a place that was unaffected by the leaking gas. We spent the night at a relation's place in Arera Colony.

The morning after the tragedy was bright and sunny. I started working the phone for information. Among the more resourceful newsmen in Bhopal those days was Taroon Bhaduri of The Statesman and Abhishek Bachchan's grandpa. Bhaduri told me about a call he received from someone high up in Union Carbide. Initial reports put the gas leak toll at five and the company executive said the situation had been brought under control. It was evident that the Union Carbide spin doctors were already at work.

Later in the morning Rajan and I found that all hell had broken loose at Hamidia Hospital. The OPD verandah, outer lawns and even the driveway were littered with people who had collapsed in fatigue and complained of breathlessness. Doctors said they were running short of drugs. To cope with a spate of patients that continued coming through the night the hospital authorities sent out their staff to buy up from drugstores in town all available stock of sodium thiosulphate - antidote to cyanide poisoning.

The tragedy of it was that the gas victims did not respond to the drug. The toll mounted by the hour. Postmortem indicated that the deaths were due to respiratory failure following pulmonary oedema (fluid in the lungs). It was found that the lungs of gas victims contained 250 cc of fluid and weighed 900 grams against the normal lungs weight of 400 to 500 grams.

The gas that leaked out of the pesticides plant was methyl isocyanate (MIC). And doctors in Bhopal administered drugs for cyanide poisoning. The 'cyanate' in MIC was quite another devil. No one had a clue to the formulation of MIC, which was the trade secret of the US multinational. The Union Carbide stonewalled all queries on possible antidote to MIC while the gas affected were dying by the hundreds. All that the Union Carbide could be persuaded to divulge was a statement saying that methyl isocyanate had nothing to do with cyanide and that the two substances had entirely different effects on tissues and human health.




The views represented in this article are unedited and unaltered standpoints of the author as discussed by him on desicritics.org. The article is posted on this site with the author's imprimatur.

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Joke of the Year !


For those who are not able to snicker at the gags conjured up by those half-witted, imbecile morons from the Great Indian Laughter Challenge show…here is something that is sure to crack them up. It’s an advertisement (issued in the November 1 issue of TOI) highlighting the “DEVELOPMENTS” made by the Democratic Front government in its two year of being in power in Maharashtra.


Some of the most “dazzling” claims made by this ad are:

1. “I feel safe and secure right here”

I feel safe alright. With terrorist attacks becoming a once-in-a-fortnight affair and our ‘conscientious’ and ‘high-spirited’ police personnel getting tangled in zillion scams, charges of rape, extortion and corruption, I surely feel secure. After all, it is undeniably safer than Kabul or Baghdad!


2. “The best jobs in the world in IT, Finance etc are right here”

And what about some of the major IT corporations like Intel and Google that we lost out to Bangalore, thanks to the absurdly high real estate prices in Mumbai and predominantly due to the Maharashtra Urban Land Ceiling Act. (The Maharashtra government continues to swear by the Act despite its counter-productivity and the Centre’s advice against it.)


3. “I have seen airports abroad and we have similar ones….right here”

The lady in this ad need to be catechized exactly which Airports has she seen abroad. If she means airports of Sudan or Nigeria, then I think it’s a legitimate claim. But by that, if she means world class airports like Heathrow or JFK, then I guess we need to take her to a little tour of our International Airport, which I presume is the only Airport having the world’s largest slum in its own backyard! (Or is it Front yard!)



And the last one which will undoubtedly have you rolling in laughter,

4. “The roads are becoming better and the air cleaner”

What can I say about this stupefying comment? The one who has externalized this line has evidently either not been to Mumbai or is a burnout alcoholic! There are estimated 1500 potholes on roads in Mumbai including suburbs, some of them gargantuan enough to make the craters on Moon look diminutive! The pollution levels don’t draw a rosy picture either. The phrase ‘Cleaner Air’ is Latin for us Mumbaikars where breathing is equivalent to smoking almost 8 cigarettes daily!

This is the situation prevailing in the Financial Capital of India, the city which contributes 40% of income tax collections, 60% of customs duty collections, 20% of central excise tax collections, 40% of foreign trade and Rupees 40 billion (approx US$ 9 billion) in corporate taxes. The situation gets worse as we move into deeper parts of Maharashtra, where the exigency of load shedding (8-10 hours a day) and naxalite problems are rampant.

So instead of thinking about making us laugh by publishing such humorous ads (that too at the cost of the exchequer), I request our government to bequeath the money spent on such ads to those hapless and impoverished farmers who are committing suicides by the day. As far as our laughing is concerned, we will somehow manage to snicker at the gags conjured up by those half-witted, imbecile morons from the Great Indian Laughter Challenge show!

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Muslim Group Alleges Apple's Store To Be Blasphemous

Article first posted on : Desicritics.org
Author: Kishore .
Original Source: MEMRI ( Middle East Media Research Institute )

If you need the lamest excuse to start an unnecessary ruffle in the name of your religion, then this is probably the best of all.

A report claims that some unnamed Muslim group has raised a furor alleging Apple's cube-shaped New York City Store to be an insult to their religion. The reason? The structure of Apple's new store resembles that of the sacred Ka'ba in Mecca.

The Middle East Research Organization claims in its web site,
"The fact that the building resembles the Ka'ba [see picture below], is called "Apple Mecca," is intended to be open 24 hours a day like the Ka'ba, and moreover, contains bars selling alcoholic beverages, constitutes a blatant insult to Islam."
Contrary to the claim, the store has not been named Apple Mecca. It's just called the Apple Store (so how blasphemous is that?). Neither does the Genius Bar in the cube-shaped store have anything to do with selling alcohol let alone affronting Muslim dictates about consumption of alcohol. Actually, the Genius Bar, unlike the name suggests, does not serve drinks. It's meant to provide Product Consulting and Support services to its customers. Whoever the unnamed Muslim group is, it has clearly misunderstood the idea of behind the term Genius Bar.


(i) The Apple Store at Fifth Avenue (ii) The Sacred Ka'ba


The report calls this project a blatant insult to Islam and is trying to gauge worldwide support to stop the construction of the building. The message urges Muslims to spread this alert, in the hope that "Muslims will be able to stop the project."

If you notice the pictures, you'll understand why the group's claim is ridiculous. A store being constructed by a company to provide product support services for its customers, with the only crime that the cube shape resembles the sacred Ka'ba in Mecca is suddenly the biggest reason to fuel religious hatred. Well, going by those standards, anything cube shaped in this world is blasphemous and against Islam because it would then resemble the sacred Ka'ba.

Some deeper analysis into this ridiculous story reveals that it originated within an organization whose goal is to find the worst possible quotes from the Muslim world and disseminate them as widely as possible.

Seems like some people just hate peace. I wonder if the anonymous people behind these unnamed sites sit up every morning nibbling through every newspaper in the world looking for tiny bits of items which can be extrapolated and imbued with religious meaning, and then promptly claim, in the name of religion, that the world is secretly conspiring against their religion and inspire their fellow men to stand up against all such atrocities.

Phew! Just give us a break.

The views represented in this article are unedited and unaltered standpoints of the author as discussed by him on desicritics.org. The article is posted on this site with the author's imprimatur.

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Hello and welcome to my blog.

My name is Ganesh Parab and I am a writer, techie and guitarist based out of Mumbai, India. I love photography and am passionate about travelling, exploring the unexplored on my trusted bike and capturing all the candid moments on my Nikon.

This blog for me represents freedom of expression and sharing my opinions with the rest of the world. This blog is my story. You can also follow me on

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